2015届高考英语二轮专题检测精品练习 阅读理解(16)

2015届高考英语二轮专题检测精品练习：阅读理解（16）

A

(2014届·合肥四校高三4月质量检测)

Parents are creating an “I want it now” generation by indulging children’s every demand at Christmas，say experts.Youngsters are becoming increasingly selfish，claim the education analysts. Consumer-savvy children are forcing their families into racking up huge debts and risk becoming spoilt and dissatisfied in the future.

Behavioural consultant Chris Calland said，“Parents are desperate to make Christmas into a magical fairy tale for their kids.There’s noth ing wrong with that as such.The problem arises when it means always giving into all our children’s demands—even if they are beyond our price range or not age-appropriate.”

Ms Calland，who runs “Santa Says No” style sessions with colleague Nicky Hutchinson，added，“Many of us go into so much debt providing the gifts our children want that we spend the rest of the year paying off the bills.Yet so often the parcels we’ve carefully wrapped，once opened，are just pushed away because the very thing our little boy or girl was once so desperate for，they have now lost interest in.”

Ms Calland and Ms Hutchinson have drawn up a list of guidelines to help parents manage their offspring’s Christmas lists this year.They say that adults can actually improve their relationshi ps with their children by resisting “pester (纠缠) power”．

Ms Calland said，“All too often we say yes because we want an easier life when the fact is that we’re only building up problems for the future.We are helping create a generation of youngsters who are blind to the needs of others and the necessity of hard work.”

“Children learn fast—if we sometimes change our mind，they quickly realise it might be worth lying on the floor and screaming for it.Make sure you and your partner are working together on this.Be consistent.And try not to get caught up in competition with other families or friends.”5．What is the main problem with the “I want it now” generation?

A．They are quite self-centered.

B．They like to live in fairy tales.

C．They waste a lot of money on gifts.

D．They can’t keep their interest in gifts.

6．What is probably the aim of “Santa Says No” style sessions?

A．To advise on how to wrap gifts properly.

B．To keep children’s interest in the gifts.

C．To tell parents how to say no to childre n’s demands.

D．To advise parents on what gifts to buy for children.

7．According to the passage，we can infer that Ms Calland intends to________.

A．analyze children’s behavior

B．give advice to parents

C．introduce a new generation

D．give her support to parents

8．Ms Calland would agree that parents should________.

A．buy nothing for children at Christmas

B．choose gifts carefully for children

C．let children choose their own gifts

D．avoid competing with others

B

I Don’t Think I Wrote Wrong

Lao Yang was born in a small town. He liked reading when he studied at school. He thought the writers were respected(尊敬) and could get a lot of money. He wrote a lot of stories and posted them to the editorial departments (编辑部) but didn’t receive any answers.

Now he works in a factory. He’s busy at work. When he’s free, he always reads something. He always remembers he hoped to be a writer when he was young. One day, Xiao Ping, his ten-year-old daughter, came back. She looked worried and didn’t eat anything. She said Miss GAO, h er Chinese teacher, told them to write a solicit article(征文) “My Father” that evening. But she did not know what to write.

“That’s easy,” said Lao Yang. “Let me help you.”

Then he sat down to write the solicit article at once. He easily finished it on time. He was sure Miss GAO would like it. But one afternoon he asked his daughter if the article had been chosen to post to the editorial department.

“My teacher said your article digressed from the subject(离题),” said the girl.

“I don’t think so,” Lao Yang shouted angrily. “I described(描写) just my father!”

1. Lao Yang wrote a lot of stories because _______.

A. he likes reading

B. he learned much at school

C. he wanted to be a writer

D. he wanted to help others

2. Lao Yang posted the stories to the editorial departments, _______.

A. and he got a lot of money

B. and he became a famous man

C. and he was respected

D. but he failed

3. As _______, Lao Yang decided to help his daughter.

A. he was a writer

B. he was free

C. he wanted to realize his ideal(理想)

D. he wanted to make his daughter happy

4. Lao Yang hoped _______.

A. his article could surprise the teacher

B. his article could be chosen

C. the children could like his article

D. everyone could soon know him

5. Lao Yang’s solicit article digressed from the su bject _______.

A. because he couldn’t write it at all

B. because he didn’t know his father well

C. because it was too bad to be chosen

D. just because he described his father

C

In his 1930 essay “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren”，John Keynes，a famous economist, wrote that human needs fall into two classes: absolute needs, which are independent of

what others have, and relative needs, which make us feel superior to our fellows. He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable(无止境的), this is not true of absolute needs.

Keynes was surely correct that only a small part of total spending is decided by the desire for superiority. He was greatly mistaken, however, in seeing this desire as the only source of insatiable demands.

Decisions to spend are also driven by ideas of quality which can influence the demand for almost all goods, including even basic goods like food. When a couple goes out for an anniversary dinner, for example, the thought of feeling superior to others probably never comes to them. Their goal is to share a special meal that stands out from other meals.

There are no obvious limits to the escalation of demands for quality. For example, Porsche, a famous car producer, has a model which was considered perhaps the best sports car on the market. Priced at over $120,000, it handles perfectly well and has great speed acceleration. But in 2004, the producer introduced some changes which made the model slightly better in handling and acceleration. People who really care about cars find these small improvements exciting. To get them, however, they must pay almost four times the price.

By placing the desire to be superior to others at the heart of his description of insatiable demands, Keynes actually reduced such demands. However, the desire for higher quality has no natural limits.

72. According to the passage, John Keynes believed that________.

A. desire is the root of both absolute and relative needs

B. absolute needs come from our sense of superiority

C. relative needs alone lead to insatiable demands

D. absolute needs are stronger than relative needs

73. What do we know about the couple in Paragraph 3?

A. They want to show their superiority.

B. They find specialty important to meals.

C. Their demands for food are not easily satisfied.

D. Their choice of dinner is related to ideas of quality.

74. What does the underlined word “escalation” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Understanding.

B. Increase.

C. Difference.

D. Study.

75. The author of the passage argues that ________.

A. absolute needs have no limits

B. demands for quality are not insatiable

C．human desires influence ideas of quality

D. relative needs decide most of our spending

D

Low-Cost Gifts for Mother's Day

Gift No. I

Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits